Vehicles are being sold with more narrow approach and departure angles, or bottom surfaces with a low profile. Additionally, some consumers modify their vehicles, or use their vehicles in a non-standard way, making them more prone to contacting obstacles, for example, when cars are lowered or when vehicles are used for off-roading. When the exterior of a vehicle panel contacts a curb, street, pothole, speed-bump, rock, or other obstacle, it can cause significant damage to the vehicle at high cost Traditional protection methods include add-on single or multi-piece plastic parts, where a large portion of the add-on piece comes into contact with the obstacle. This results in excessive force being applied to the vehicle, and in some situations, violent removal of the protective piece, the part of the vehicle to which it is attached, or both. Additionally, traditional methods are ill-fitting, do not extend sufficiently to the border of vehicle panels, and do not include a second edge that permits low friction movement over an obstacle. As a result, when a driver moves to back over the obstacle, such as a curb, the protective piece becomes a liability, snagging on the obstacle and exerting excessive force onto the vehicle and the protective piece and damaging the vehicle.
Further disadvantages include: the typical protective piece is made from thin or flimsy material: is not capable of being truly three dimensional; is ill-fitting; and does not utilize factory fasteners or requires excessive fasteners.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cost-effective protective panel that alleviates the problems associated with existing panels, has a low friction component, can withstand increased force, provides protection in more than one direction, and fits precisely.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been rendered according to any particular sequence or embodiment. For example, features may exist concurrently or in a different orientations and are illustrated in the figures to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.